


Hell is when I fight with you

by nattiecake08



Category: Grantchester (TV)
Genre: Fluff, Heavy Petting, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mild Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-20
Updated: 2020-06-20
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:41:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24823279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nattiecake08/pseuds/nattiecake08
Summary: Leonard and Daniel have a fight... and a soppy make up.
Relationships: Leonard Finch/Daniel Marlowe
Comments: 4
Kudos: 20





	Hell is when I fight with you

**Author's Note:**

> Title from Taylor Swift's False God.

“For God’s sake, Leonard. It’s a few days in Paris, not a round-the-world cruise!” Daniel said in exasperation. 

“That’s not the point. You know how tight my stipend is. I have to save for next summer’s holiday to Corfu.” Leonard replied. 

“I know that. That’s why I offered to pay for both of us. I was trying to do something nice for my boyfriend, I wanted to treat you!” Daniel gestured to the remnants of the French candlelit meal he had prepared for them, consisting of red wine, coq au vin, chocolate mousse. 

Leonard’s face softened and he reached to squeeze Daniel’s hand. “And I love you for that, my darling. Of course I do. But this beautiful evening was enough. I can’t let you do this for me.”

Daniel rubbed his temple tiredly. “Why are you being so stubborn?” he sighed. 

“Why are you?” Leonard countered. 

“I don’t understand it. I’m sure if Geordie offered to take Cathy to Paris she’d be delighted. Hell, any wife would be!” Daniel shouted.

Leonard flinched and took a step back, face pinched. “I am _not_ your little **_wife_** , Daniel!” he spat.

“That came out wrong, Len. Look, I’m sorry, I- “ Daniel stuttered.

“Is that what you want? If not an actual woman, then someone to lord it over? A pretty young boy who’ll sleep with you for a weekend away? Well I have my pride!” Leonard cried.

It was Daniel’s turn to look horrified. He recoiled, but chose to swallow his next retort. Instead he just murmured, “That’s not fair.”

When he looked up, Leonard was already shrugging into his coat, and then he was storming out the door.

“Leonard!” he shouted after him. “Leonard, just come back! It’s pitch-dark out there!” Daniel’s voice was swallowed by the bitter February wind.

_‘Shit!’_ he hissed aloud. He debated following him, but he knew that after an argument - which were admittedly few and far between; fewer than in any relationship Daniel had ever had – Leonard preferred to retreat and have some space to calm down.

He gave Leonard twenty minutes then rang the well-known number for the vicarage.

“Hullo, Will speaking,” Daniel sighed in relief. At least Will wouldn’t hang up on him.

“Uh, it’s Daniel. I’m sorry it’s so late, Will; Leonard and I have had a fight. I just wanted to check he got home safe?” he asked.

Will smiled at the concern in Daniel’s voice. “Yes, he came storming in about five minutes ago. Would you like me to try to talk to him?”

Daniel hummed, “Probably best to see how he feels in the morning. I’ll pop round after breakfast.”

“Okay, well try not to worry. I’m sure both of you will feel better then,” Will said.

“I hope so. Thanks, Will. Good night,”

“Night.”

Daniel took a deep breath, trying to clear the image of Leonard’s hurt face from his mind; eyes wide and fighting tears, mouth drawn in a thin line. He ignored the wound gnawing at the pit of his own stomach from Leonard’s final insinuation.

He surveyed the mess in the kitchen. _And after I spent all afternoon cooking_ , he mused with annoyance as he cleared the dining table.

Leonard paced his little bedroom fretfully. _Why did he always have to storm off after a fight? He thought he was done running, done being a coward._

Even after that awful, wicked thing he’d said, Daniel still worried about him. He deserved someone better.

_I have to fix this._

Will was already asleep when he passed by his room, so he quickly scrawled a note, ‘ _I’ve gone back to Daniel’s’,_ grabbed a torch and headed out, forgetting his umbrella by the door.

A few minutes from home, the icy rain started to drizzle, soon giving way to a painful downpour, but Leonard pressed on in blind panic. _I have to get to Daniel, I have to fix this_ , he repeated as an internal mantra.

Then the torch flickered out, leaving Leonard in the heavy blackness of the meadow. He hadn’t minded the darkness in his earlier anger, but now the howling winds of the night seemed strange demons encircling him. He must have been half way there, so he stumbled on, slipping and sliding on the muddy paths. An owl shrieking in the distance caused him to start in fear. _Dear lord, please keep me safe._

His eyes were swimming, but Leonard could just make out the faint lights of Daniel’s cottage seeping through the curtains, a beacon of safety and warmth and _love._

_Thank you._

Daniel opened his door to find a trembling Leonard, drenched from head to toe. His hair was plastered across his face, a deathly shade of white, lips purple from the cold.

“I’m sorry!” he cried through chattering teeth.

Daniel gathered him into his arms, shushing him gently, wiping away the tears and rain drops that were tracking down his cheeks. Leonard huddled into his embrace desperately, shaking involuntarily at the sudden warmth.

“You’re freezing sweetheart, you’re soaked through.” Daniel said, holding his lover close. “What were you thinking?”

“I had to fix this,” Leonard mumbled into Daniel’s shoulder.

Daniel pressed a kiss to his icy temple and started to rub some feeling back into his fingers.

“We’ll talk later, okay? Let’s get you into a nice warm bath before you catch your death, hm?” Daniel coaxed.

Leonard nodded gratefully, then surveyed Daniel’s now wet shirt and the mud he had tracked in on his own trousers.

Daniel just smiled fondly and squeezed his hand in reassurance. “I’ll have to join you in the tub then.”

Leonard fought to move his frozen limbs, allowing Daniel to free him of his sodden coat, trousers, shoes and guide him upstairs.

He lingered in the doorway shyly as Daniel drew the bath, adding a generous dollop of his favourite lavender bath oil. Daniel undressed casually and switched off the taps, gorgeous even in the bathroom’s dim light. Leonard watched him greedily, wishing he could be so comfortable in his own skin. Despite having been _intimate_ with each other for two years now, it was still hard to suppress that nervous pang when undressing in front of his other half, hard to believe Daniel’s heartfelt compliments and roving eyes were meant for _his_ pale, ordinary form.

But then Daniel was helping Leonard out of his undershirt and boxers, looking at _him_ like he was the most beautiful thing in the world, and all of his doubts dissolved as their eyes locked. “Now, it’s not too hot, I don’t want you getting chilblains,” Daniel was saying. He gripped Leonard’s wrist tenderly as he helped him step into the bath. _You are so good to me._

Leonard sunk into the warm bubbles eagerly, reemerging to lean against the comfort of Daniel’s solidity. Daniel wrapped an arm protectively around his waist and Leonard placed one hand over his, linking the fingers of their free hands together on the rim of the tub. Their legs were lazily entwined, and Leonard allowed his head to droop onto the broad plane of Daniel’s chest.

“I’m sorry, Dan,” he whispered again.

“I’m sorry too,” Daniel murmured, softly pressing a kiss to Leonard’s shoulder. “Of course I didn’t mean that you were a woman, or anything but an independent equal in this relationship.”

“I know. I should never have said what I did, it was bloody cruel.” Leonard said. He glanced up at Daniel, worrying his bottom lip. “It’s just… my own insecurities. Sometimes I worry that you’ll get bored of me, want someone more exciting who would bite your hand off for a trip away, someone like that handsome young man I found you with…” he trailed off awkwardly.

Daniel hugged him closer. “Oh _Leonard_ , my poor love,” he rested his chin on Leonard’s wet curls and chuckled. “Nicholas was a horrible, vain, shallow little thing. He _never_ would have walked through a rainstorm in the middle of a cold February night for me,”

“My torch died,” Leonard lamented pitifully.

“In total darkness,” Daniel added. He curled a hand around the back of Leonard’s neck. “I love _you_.” He nuzzled their noses together until Leonard smiled. “Only you. Believe me?”

Leonard nodded and Daniel grinned back, pulling him in for a sloppy open-mouthed kiss, sweet and tangy and perfect.

Leonard shifted back around to get comfortable. “I was terribly ungrateful, and after such a divine supper,” he said regretfully.

“And I know that you have your pride, and I understand why you don’t want me to just pay for everything. I would never want you to feel beholden to me,” Daniel offered. “But you know I believe this is our only lifetime. I’ve wasted enough years without you, I want to go on adventures with my best friend.”

Leonard squeezed his thigh. “I would be _honoured_ to visit the city of love with you, mignonette.”

Daniel beamed in triumph and the use of their favourite French endearment. “Let’s compromise, shall we? Only one or two short trips abroad per annum, which I will happily cover, and one longer summer holiday where we go Dutch?”

“Deal,” Leonard laughed. “For a second I thought you were going to say we’d have to get the ferry! I still get taken to Brighton and London, don’t I?”

“Of course, I’m not a monster!” Daniel smirked, nipping lightly at the tender skin at the nape of Leonard’s neck and chuckling as his ticklish boyfriend squirmed against him with a yelp, sending a small splash onto the floor.

“Springtime in Paris, how romantic,” Leonard sighed dreamily.

“You’re going to love it, Len. And just wait until you eat French food _in_ France. An almost _holy_ experience,” he winked at the curate.

Leonard shivered slightly, leaning forward to top up the hot water.

Daniel scooped a little up, and drizzled it over Leonard’s arms, down his back. Leonard hummed in contentment as his lover began massaging his scalp. Daniel hit a particularly tense spot at the base of his head and Leonard let out a keening little moan, arching his back in pleasure.

_Goodness_ , but that noise had made someone a little _excited_ beneath him. “Well,” he purred, one eyebrow raised. Leonard maneuvered himself so he was facing the photographer, sat in his lap. He ground their hips together, hands splayed across Daniel’s chest. He pecked his lover sweetly on the lips, then began peppering progressively _wetter_ kisses down his jaw, neck, collarbone. Daniel steadied him with a hand on his lower back, letting out a guttural whine when Leonard pulled back, before flushing in embarrassment at the rather unbecoming noise.

Leonard laughed, but it was a pure, affectionate sound and he stroked his thumb along the contour of Daniel’s cheek fondly.

“I suppose you’re right, sweetheart. I can’t have you getting a fever now, can I?” Daniel asked, but he ran his hands appreciatively along the curves of his boyfriend’s sides, stopping to playfully squeeze his pert cheeks.

Leonard threw his head back, positioning himself on Daniel’s thighs. “Oh, I don’t know. It would be so very romantic, don’t you think? To be a lovesick heroine right out of a novel, weathering a storm to reach her beloved only to die in his arms from pneumonia,” he mused.

Daniel shook his head, “No, that just won’t do. Who would stroll along the Seine with me then?” He leant forward to give the curate a firm kiss, sucking hungrily on his lower lip as he pulled back. 

“I suppose every priest should visit Notre-Dame and Sainte-Chapelle and Sacre Coeur…” Leonard smiled.

“We’re only going for four nights, Len, let’s stick to those three, shall we?” Daniel chuckled. “Now you stay warm and I’ll get your things,” he patted Leonard’s hips, then hoisted himself out of the bath reluctantly.

Leonard closed his eyes and sent up a little prayer for this wonderful creature who cared for him so. Daniel reappeared after a few minutes, dressed in his own pyjamas. He offered his lover a hand out of the bath, dropping a kiss to his knuckles before enveloping him in a fluffy, clean towel and using a smaller one to dry his hair. Not for the first time, Leonard thought with a slight pang, _he would have made such a wonderful father._

“I’ll go make us some tea, get something warm in your stomach,” Daniel said, handing him a pair of the thick flannel pyjamas Leonard kept in the bottom drawer of Daniel’s dresser.

The photographer ascended the stairs slowly, balancing the two teacups; strong with a dash of milk and two sugars for Leonard, milky with no sugar for himself. His heart lifted at the sight before him of his beloved already sat in bed, engrossed in Joyce’s _Ulysses._ “Well, someone looks a little less of a drowned rat now,” Daniel remarked playfully, passing Leonard his tea. True enough, his formerly blotchy cheeks were now pink and flushed, wayward hair carefully gelled back into place.

Setting his own cup down, he fussed over Leonard, feeling his forehead with the back of his hand to check for signs of a temperature. “Warm enough?” he asked.

Leonard shrugged, “I think so, my love.” Unsatisfied, Daniel rifled through his cupboard until he found his prize, which he laid over the bedspread with a triumphant flourish.

“Oh Dan, your mum’s blanket,” Leonard breathed, free hand gingerly tracing the fading shades of blue in the crocheted throw. Elizabeth Marlowe had knitted it while pregnant with her second child, who she just _knew_ would be a brother for Tabitha, and it had comforted Daniel through many a childhood illness and adult heartbreak. Now a little threadbare, Leonard knew it only came out on very special occasions when it was needed most.

Daniel settled in beside him to sup in companionable silence, and Leonard sidled closer in relief.

“I hate fighting with you, it’s hell,” Leonard pouted into Daniel’s shoulder, cuddled tightly in the cosy amber glow of the bedside lamp.

Daniel hummed in agreement. “But making up is sweet heaven,” he murmured, tilting his chin to face him and catching him in a deep kiss that made Leonard see stars.

Leonard gazed into those honeyed eyes, breathless and tingling, and pressed his hand to Daniel’s own heaving chest, almost as if he didn’t anchor himself to the other man, he would drift away beyond his reach. “I love you, my one,” he whispered.

“I love you,” Daniel repeated softly in his ear, over and over again, the promise lulling him into a restful repose at last.

**Author's Note:**

> So, I really stepped out of my comfort zone with that bit of smut... I hope it's okay (hides, blushing furiously). 
> 
> I just love exploring their blissful domesticity, please can we get more next series, pleeease Daisy Coulam *puppy dog eyes*. 
> 
> Thanks to Leonard's Angels for suggesting how the boys take their tea <3 
> 
> A couple of now-recurring headcanons: 
> 
> \- Daniel has an older sister, Tabbie.  
> \- The boys each keep a drawer of their things at the other's house.  
> \- Daniel loves that lavender bath oil, haha.  
> \- One of their favourite pet names for each other is ‘mignonette’, which I picked up from Versailles.


End file.
